The Pacific sand crab is tiny - a little over an inch long at most, but one of the most important herbivores on the beach. A vital link in the sandy beach food web, shorebirds constantly patrol the the tideline to find these crabs buried in the sand.

NPS: Sand Crabs on Santa Rosa Island

A figure showing the trends in the density of sand crabs on Santa Rosa Island from 1994 to 2015. Figure credit: Channel Islands National Park.

A figure showing the trends in the density of sand crabs on Santa Rosa Island from 1994 to 2015. Figure credit: Channel Islands National Park.

Click for Details Mean density of sand crabs Emerita analoga from surveys of eight beaches on Santa Rosa Island from 1994-2015. Curved blue line represents the statistically smoothed mean. For more information, consult Figure App.F.12.4 in the CINMS 2016 Condition Report.

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